Thoughts on Matthew – Part 3
MT 21:4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,
MT 21:5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
MT 21:6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,
MT 21:7 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.
MT 21:8 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.
MT 21:9 And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.
It was foretold hundreds of years before that the coming King would ride into Jerusalem on an ass. By coming into Jerusalem this way Jesus was clearly declaring that He was the one that was prophesied about. He was telling the world that He was the one that they had been waiting for. The people were excited about it. A multitude spread their garments in the way for a path for Him to ride into town on. The multitudes went before Him and cried, “Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.”
They were thrilled to see Jesus. But only as long as they thought that He would give them what they wanted. They wanted Him to set up the kingdom right then. They wanted Him to give them independence from Rome. And when it became evident that Jesus was not going to do that, they went from shouting Hosanna, Hosanna to shouting Crucify Crucify. What a display of the fickle wicked heart of man.
You see this same sinful fickle nature of man all the time. You see it in politics, you see it in the workplace. You see it in family relations. I have even seen people act this way towards preachers. They will be all for the man when he preaches on the compassion of Jesus or on love or hope. But as soon as he preaches on sin, watch out. Especially if he preaches on the sin of adding to or taking away from God’s Word. Then instead of singing praises, they start throwing curses. Men will switch from Hosanna to Crucify as fast as you can snap your fingers.
How does this apply to us? First determine in your heart that you will not be that way. Pray and ask God to give you the strength, wisdom, and grace to not behave this way. Second if you are in the ministry in some way, understand that people will be fickle. Do not take it personally. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Stick to your guns and hold to the truth regardless of what people say or do to you. Do not let the wicked sinful fickle nature of man stop you from doing what God would have you to do.
MT 21:22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
There is a connection between believing and receiving. You have to have faith in what you are asking for. Does your request line up with the word of God? Is it something that God would want? You have to believe that He wants to grant your request. Not only do you have to have faith in what you are asking for but you have to have faith in who you are asking. He is all powerful and fully capable of answering your prayer. We need to be asking in faith.
Heb 11:6 But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Why must we ask believing? Because without faith it is impossible to please Him. He is honored when we have faith in Him. Faith pleases God, and He tells us that whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
We need more believing in our asking.
MT 22:28 Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.
MT 22:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
MT 22:30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.
The Sadducees did not believe in a resurrection. They thought that this life is all there is. They used the example of a woman who had many husbands. They reasoned that if she had 7 husbands on earth, then would she not have 7 husbands in heaven. Being married to more than one husband is a sin. There can be no sin in heaven. They thought this was a good argument and tried to trip Jesus up with it.
Of course their reasoning is flawed. Jesus points this out by informing them that in heaven man does not marry. Marriage between a man and a woman is only for this life. It is not for the life to come. The Mormons are dead wrong when they teach that you can be sealed in marriage for eternity. Jesus says there is no marriage in heaven.
MT 22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
The Pharisees were trying to get Jesus to make a mistake, they were trying to trip Him up so they could discredit Him. They were looking for something to accuse Him of. So one of them that was a lawyer asked Him in verse 36 which is the great commandment in the law. Now a lawyer was a reference to one who studied the Law of Moses. He was a religious scholar. He devoted His life to studying. And I am sure that he thought he had figured out some problem in the law that no matter how Jesus answered he would trap Him. The fact is there is no problem in the law that would trip Jesus up. After being asked the question, Jesus gives the answer.
MT 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
MT 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
MT 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
MT 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
All of the 10 commandments can be summed up with these two. Love God and love thy neighbor as thyself. The first 4 of the 10 commandments cover how we are to love God and the last 6 have to do with how we relate to our fellow man. And yes, there are many more commandments than just the 10, and they also can be summarized into loving God or loving your neighbor.
If you really love God, then you will have the desire to please Him and obey Him. There is a connection between love and obedience. Jesus said,
Joh 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
The Old Testament commandments were never about working your way to heaven. They were about showing man that he is a sinner and needs a Savior, and they were about showing man how to love God. They were pointing the way to Jesus.
Mat 23:24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
Mat 23:25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Mat 23:26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
The attitudes of the blind teaches in Jesus’ day are very much alive and well today. In fact there are more blind guides today than there are true guides.
Jesus says to call no man on earth father and many blind guides today have their flocks call them father.
Jesus clearly teaches in verse 37 that man has a free will. Jesus said that they would not. He did not say they could not. But there are many blind guides today that teach that God chooses and then forces only certain people to get saved.
Blind guides are almost everywhere you look. That is why you need to study the Bible for yourself. You need to know what the Bible says so that you will not fall victim to a blind guide.
MT 23:27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.
MT 23:28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines hypocrisy as: a feigning to be what one is not, a concealment of one’s real character or motives. More generally, hypocrisy is simulation, or the assuming of a false appearance of virtue or religion; a deceitful show of a good character, in morals or religion.
The scribes and Pharisees put on a good outward show. Jesus said that they were like whited sepulchers. They were beautiful on the outside. Jesus said they appeared righteous outwardly to men. But God is more interested with the heart. The scribes and Pharisees fooled many men, but they did not fool Jesus. He saw right thru the outward show. He saw into the depths of their wicked hearts. Jesus told them that they were like a whited sepulcher which on the inside is full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness, and that within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Man looks on the outside, but God looks on the heart.
You might be able to fool the general public. You might be able to fool your church friends or the pastor. You might even be able to fool your spouse. But mark it down, you can never fool God. In the end it does no good to put on a show. We need to just be honest with ourselves and with God. We need to fess up to our sins and confess them to God. After all He already knows all about them.
MT 24:1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
MT 24:2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
Man is often impressed by the physical. We live in a physical world and it is easy to let our focus get on physical things. In verse 1 the disciples were impressed with the buildings of the temple. They were impressed enough with them to come to Jesus to show him the buildings.
Jesus is not impressed with them. He tells the disciples that those buildings are temporary. He said, “There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” The buildings are not what is important. No matter how well your building is built, it will not last. The main focus is not to be on the buildings.
Our buildings are just a tool. They only give us a place to meet. The buildings are not the church. The local church is made up of the believers. But over and over today you see people being impressed with the size of your buildings or how well they look. And too many people look down on small churches who do not have a nice building or no building at all. They are looking at the wrong things. Their focus is stuck on the physical.
If you have been involved very long in trying to get people to come to your church you know this to be true, some people will make their decision to come or not based on your buildings. This is the wrong reason to choose which church you are going to go to. You need to base your decision on the preaching and teaching ministry of the Word of God, and on how close is that church following the teachings of Jesus and not on the buildings.
If your church only has a small building, then be thankful for the small building that God gave you. If your church has no building and are meeting in a school or a home, then be thankful you have a place to meet.
Don’t fall into the sin of coveting someone else’s building.
And if you have a nice fancy big building, never get lifted up in pride about it. Don’t be showing off your buildings like the disciples were the temple. Remember they are just a tool that God gave you, and that one day they will be no more. Concentrate on the eternal. Keep walking with Jesus and winning souls and ministering to people.
MT 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
MT 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
The tribulation period will truly be horrible. There will death, disease, plagues, creatures from the pit tormenting men, and on the list goes. At the end the sun will be darkened and the moon shall not give her light.
When Jesus comes back He will establish His reign upon the earth. The killing will be over, same with the plagues and the famine. Jesus will set things right. Satan will be bound so he can’t torment and deceive man. Jesus coming back will be a wonderful thing. The problems of this wicked worldly system will finally be solved. You would think that man would be happy to see Him coming. but they will not. Verse 30 tells us that when they see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory that they mourn. They mourn. Instead of rejoicing and falling down in adoration of His great glory, they mourn.
This shows the great wicked depravity of sinful man. Jesus is nothing but honorable, and just. There is no flaw in Him. He never makes mistakes and will rule with perfect all-knowing judgment. They will see Jesus coming in power and glory and they will mourn.
Why? Because they know that their freedom to hurt others is about over. Their lives of unrestrained sin will end. The bars will be closed. Porn will be no more. Man will not be able to prey and bully others. For 7 years these men have been witnessing the end of the world. The Bible teaches us that if it went on much longer that all flesh would die. It will be that horrible. And still with all that they have been thru, they will still rather have their sin than to see Jesus coming to straighten it all out.
O’ the depravity of the heart that is without Christ!
Mat 25:1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
Mat 25:2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
Mat 25:3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
Mat 25:4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
Mat 25:5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
Mat 25:6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
Mat 25:7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
Mat 25:8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
Mat 25:9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
Mat 25:10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
Mat 25:11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
Mat 25:12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
Mat 25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Oil in the Bible is a type (a picture) of the Holy Spirit. 5 of the virgins did not have any oil. When the bridegroom came they went to get some but it was too late and they were left behind.
The picture should be clear. When Jesus comes again many will not be saved (you receive the Holy Spirit at salvation). They will try to quickly get saved but it will be too late, they will be left behind.
Jesus is coming back
1Co 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
Are you ready? Have you accepted Jesus as your savior?
MT 25:35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
MT 25:36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
MT 25:37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
MT 25:38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
MT 25:39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
MT 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
When you minister to a brother in jail, or a brother who is sick, poor, or hungry, Jesus considers it as doing it to Him. The person who you are ministering to is also His child. He loves that person just as much as He loves you. That saved person who is having trouble has the same Holy Spirit living in his heart that you do.
I have seen men refuse opportunities to minister to someone simply because they would only be ministering to a small handful of people. They have this un-biblical idea that ministering to the few or the one is not worth the effort.
There are churches in small towns that are doing without a pastor because men will not submit to minister to the few. God loves the church of 17 people in a small town to. When you minister to them Jesus considers it as ministering to Him. If God calls you to minister to a small group, don’t pass up the opportunity to be in God’s will.
MT 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
MT 25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
MT 25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
And then speaking of the wicked is verse 46.
MT 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats. He is the Shepherd and He knows His own. The goats don’t belong to the Shepherd. The goats are those who reject Jesus as Saviour. And in verse 46 we see that after the goats are separated they will go away into everlasting punishment.
Everlasting means everlasting. It is punishment that lasts forever. It will never end. Everyone is either a sheep or a goat. There are no exceptions and there are only two destinations after you die. The lost go to everlasting punishment and the sheep go to everlasting life with Jesus in Heaven. There is no comparison between the two. They are total opposites. One is the best that is possible and the other is the worst that is possible. There is no in between.
The first obvious application is to know where you are going. Are you a sheep or a goat; are you lost or born again?
The second is if you are saved, then should you not be more concerned about the lost? Should you not be doing more to see souls saved from the fire? Should you not be putting out more Gospel tracts? Shouldn’t you be praying more for the souls of men; praying more for your pastor’s preaching? The answer should be obvious. We all need to do more, care more, and pray more about the souls of men.
MT 26:33 Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.
MT 26:34 Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
MT 26:35 Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.
Peter gets all the attention for saying that he would never deny Jesus. But notice that Peter was not the only one who said it. Verse 35 says, “Likewise also said all the disciples.” They all said that they would never be offended. And yet when the hour came they all fled and forsook Him.
We can all think too highly of ourselves. We can look at something and say I would never do that. We can be absolutely convinced of it. We can look at what someone else is doing and think how awful and vile, and say I would never do that. Be careful. All of us have the old wicked sin nature still in us. We need to realize that if circumstances were different that could be us.
Some people will say I will never quit going to church like aunt Suzy did, and then later, when they get their feelings hurt, you find them doing the same thing that Suzy did. I have seen men stand up and give a testimony of how great the pastor is and then 6 months later they are trying to get him fired.
People will say that they will never be controlled by booze. They are only social drinkers after all. Then later they turn into alcoholics. On and on the examples could go.
We should never have a boastful attitude about how we would never fall. Our attitude needs to be by the grace of God I will not fall into that.
Jesus made mention of this in the model prayer.
Mat 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
We need to realize the wickedness that is in our hearts and pray to God to keep us from falling into sin. We need to pray for His power to keep us from doing wrong and to keep us faithful.
MT 26:59 Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death;
MT 26:60 But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses,
The chief priests, elders, and all the council had to seek false witnesses because no true witnesses could be found. Jesus is sinless. He is the perfect Lamb of God that came to take away the sin of the world. He could take our sin upon Himself and pay our penalty, because He had no sin of His own. Because He had no sin nature He never sinned. Because He never sinned, there was no wicked deed that anyone could be a witness to.
The life of Jesus shone brightly in the darkness around Him. They knew it. They knew they could not find real witnesses so they sought false ones. They even had trouble finding false witnesses that would suit their evil purpose. Bent upon their wicked course they finally find two and proceed with their illegal trial done in the cover of night. It is kind of fitting that this dark deed that was done out of darkness of the heart was done in literal darkness.
The hypocrisy here is astounding. These are the religious leaders. Men who should stand for righteousness and they are involved in the greatest wickedness ever done by man (killing the sinless Son of God).
Once again we see the darkness of the heart that rejects Jesus and the lengths it will go to commit wickedness. If they could not get Jesus on charges, they would make them up. If they could not try Him legally, they would do it illegally. If they could not kill Him themselves, they would have Rome do it for them. They had the wicked philosophy that the ends justified the means. Break every principal and law to get Him, just get Him at all costs. That was their wicked attitude.
Using wicked means was wrong then and it is wrong now. It is never right to do wrong. It was wicked for these religious leaders to believe that the ends justify the means and it is wrong for us today.
Mat 27:38 Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.
Man meant it to shame Jesus by hanging Him between two thieves. It was as if to say that Jesus was no better than a common criminal.
However, God used it to show that Jesus is the great divider of men. In another gospel we learn that one thief got concerned with who he was, realized who Jesus was, and asked to be saved. And Jesus promised the thief eternal life. The other thief was only concerned with where he was and only asked to be taken off the cross. The second thief did not see Jesus for who He really was.
All men fall into those two camps. You are either with those who will see their need and see that Jesus is the only one that can save them. Or you are with those who refuse to see.
You are either with the camp that calls upon Jesus or you are with the camp that will not.
With Jesus there is NO middle ground. You only have two choices. Which camp are you in?
MT 27:24 When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.
Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent. Pilate declared Jesus a just person. And yet he sent Christ to be crucified. He refused to make a stand for Christ. Pilate’s reason was one of inconvenience. There was a tumult being made because of Jesus. If he released Him, there would be riots. His job would be at risk. Trouble would come if he received Christ and took a stand. It would cost him professionally. It would cost him time to deal with the results of accepting Christ. He chose peace now instead and end up getting eternal torment in hell.
Many people make the same choice today as Pilate did. They know that if they accept Christ it will cause some problems. If they are in an evil trade, then it will cost them their jobs. If they are not in an evil trade, it will still cause some issues at work. They will have a changed life and coworkers will notice. No more being involved in the dirty joke telling. No more going to the bar with the gang after work. Teasing and ridicule will result. It will be an inconvenience.
Then they think what about my family. They are all of a different religion after all. Aunt Suzy will be mad. They think that their parents will never forgive them. It is going to cause problems at family gatherings.
Some people will hear the gospel and understand it. But they realize that accepting Christ is going to cause a tumult at work and with their family. Knowing this many will chose peace now instead and in effect chose an eternity of torment.
Don’t make that mistake. Accepting Christ does bring some inconvenience today, but it is also the greatest thing you can do. The joy and peace you get today far outweigh any inconveniences that may come. And isn’t just a little trouble today worth an eternity of peace in heaven?
MT 27:26 Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
First they had Jesus scourged. This was a horrible whipping that would actually tear off pieces of flesh. That was horrible, but they are just getting started.
MT 27:27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers.
MT 27:28 And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.
MT 27:29 And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!
MT 27:30 And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.
MT 27:31 And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.
This whole band of soldiers dress Jesus up in a robe and give Him a crown of thorns and a reed in his right hand. This was done to mock Him. To the one who was worthy of the pure white robes of glory, they give a scarlet robe. To the one who is worthy of the crown of glory, they give a crown of thorns. To the one who has a royal scepter of righteousness they give only a reed.
They were not satisfied with just giving Him a crown of thorns. No they had to beat it into His head. They were not satisfied with letting Him have a reed for His scepter. They had to beat Him with it. They were not satisfied to let Him wear an inferior robe. No they strip it from Him. They were not satisfied with only crucifying Him. They mocked Him, they spit in His face, they abused Him, and they hit Him.
And Jesus could have had 10,000 angels wipe them out. But He did not. He took it all. All the hatred, all the punishment, all the mockery. And then still went ahead and died for these wicked men on the cross. His first words on the cross was a prayer for the Father to forgive these men. After all these men did and all their hatred they had in their heart, Jesus still loved them and died for them.
Nothing compares to the Love of God.
Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Rom 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
Rom 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
MT 28:5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
MT 28:6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
Here we have some of the greatest words in the Bible, “he is risen”. The sin penalty had been paid in full. There was no reason for Him to stay dead. No more payment needed to be made. The resurrection proved it, because the wages of sin is death. If the penalty had not been fully paid, then he could not have risen. He rose proving that provision had been made for us to be saved.
Death had no power to hold Him. Jesus had the power to raise Himself. His resurrection shows us that He has the power over death, hell and the grave. It shows us that He has the power to also raise us. This is great news. News that demands to be shared with others.
MT 28:7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.
MT 28:8 And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.
The angel told them to go tell others the news and to do it quickly. They obeyed this command and ran to bring his disciples word.
Every Christian should do likewise and share this great message.
Jesus has risen. He has spent 40 days teaching His disciples. He is now about to leave, but before He does Jesus will give them their marching orders. He would not have them idle while He is gone. He starts off by making a declaration.
MT 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
All power has been given to Jesus in heaven and in earth. This gives Him the right to give the following order. He has the power to give it. There is also another reason He makes this declaration. Not only does He have the power to give the following order, but He has the power to enable them to follow it.
MT 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Don’t overlook that word therefore. Because Jesus has all power, therefore Go. Therefore get busy. Because He has all power, teach men about the gospel. And after they accept it, then baptize them in the name of the Triune God.
MT 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Don’t stop after getting them saved and baptized. After that teach them to observe all things. Teach them all the commandments of Jesus. These marching orders that Jesus gave can be summed up as Go, Win, Baptize, and Teach. That is what we are to be busy about. Following these orders are to be the main thing. Not social events and pot luck suppers. They have a place but they are not what Jesus commanded us to be busy about.
After giving them their marching orders, Jesus reminds them once again of His power, His Grace, and His Love. He tells them, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. As they go about working for Him, He will be there. Guiding them, empowering them, caring for them. They could go and obey these commandments because of Jesus’ great power and because He will be with them every step of the way. The same great truth applies to us today. Are you obeying His command?
See more lessons from the Gospels